Logan's travels
by JoJo1
Summary: The adventures of some X-men characters in an alternate universe. There's no X-men, no Brotherhood. There's still mutants though, but who?
1. Chapter 1

**Feedback**: Gracias.  
**Disclaimer**: Marvel? Who? Oh those…yeah, these characters belong to them and not me. Why do you ask?  
**Author's notes**: My contribution to the DDFH AU-theme week. Very loosely based on Gulliver's travels (we get there eventually)…and somewhat loosely based on the X-men as well…I've tried to make it possible for the story to be a stand-alone (so I can finish it in time for the theme-week) but with the option of continuing later on. Scratch that. That was just the plan… it turned out to be another WIP…instead of finishing the other one. Just my luck…  
**Archival rights**: DH is automatically allowed to. Everyone else, ask first. London 

* * *

Logan Wilson was on the dole. He had been that many times before and didn't let that bother him in the least. Something would always show up sooner or later, or he might just do what he had done so many times before - create his own opportunities. Said opportunities had not always been on the legal side of the coin. Another thing that didn't bother him. Much. He had to make a living after all and he also tried to silence his conscience by telling himself that what he did was the work of a mere slacker trying to make ends meat, not the work of a hardened criminal that would do anything for money. 

When the days became weeks and the weeks became months he got more and more frustrated though. Nothing whatsoever was showing up and he didn't want to go down the illegal route unless he really was out of options and, more importantly, out of cash. He still had his emergency stash but it was just that, for emergencies. So far it wasn't an emergency. 

One evening when he was sitting in his favourite pub he ran into an old acquaintance of his, a guy going under the name of Remy LeBaue. Logan was wondering, and not for the first time, if that was really LeBaue's real name. The name sounded French and he had a thick French accent but considering some of the things LeBaue's been doing, it would be stupid of him going round using it in case the cops ever get on his track. Still, Logan knew better than to ask - especially since Remy's proven to be useful in the past. Logan knows that he's been useful to Remy as well and that's the only thing that bonds them together. 

Remy walks up to Logan, ordering a glass of red wine. Logan just rolled his eyes and took another swig of his beer, trying hard not to look into LeBaue's creepy red eyes. 

"Hi Logan. Long time, no see."   
"Not long enough. Last 'mission' you sent me on almost got me killed."   
"Ah, well. Sorry about that. Who could have foreseen that those pieces of paper were that hot, eh?"   
"Hmph."   
"Well, let me make it up to you eh, homme? I have a job for you."   
"I rather figured that. That's the only times when you and I meet."   
"Interested?"   
"Depends on what it is."   
"Ah, yes. Naturally. Something right up your alley, mon ami. Cage fighting!"   
"What's that?"   
"What? I don't believe it! A natural fighter like you that hasn't heard of cage fighting?!?"   
"Believe it."   
"I still don't but I'll humour you, okay? Picture a big cage okay? Two men enter the cage and they fight in every way possible until just one's still standing!"   
"What's in it for me?"   
"The money! It pays tons of money! You wouldn't believe how much the audience is betting on the outcome and how much tip the fighters get, especially from the women. You'd fit right in!"   
"Why now then, huh?"   
"What do you mean?"   
"I mean that this is something you must have been doing for some time the way you say it. Why do you want me for it now?"   
"Nothing escapes you, Logan. That's why I always picked you for those really dangerous jobs!"   
"Enough of the flattering, LeBaue."   
"Right. To answer your question, let's just say that the money in it has gone down as of late because our current champion's been too victorious. Good for him of course but it's no sport if you always know who's gonna win is it? Too boring!"   
"That still doesn't answer the question: why me?"   
"Homme, because you're a natural fighter! I won't kid you, this other guy is too but that's what's gonna make your fights draw so much crowd once the word is out. The more people watching, the more money you make. What do you say?" 

Logan didn't have to think about it for all that long. No matter what he had said to LeBaue he did trust him. Not completely but as a "business-partner". 

"Okay, I'm in."   
"Alright! I knew it! I knew it!" 

Logan almost had to punch him out to get a word in edge-wise when Remy's excitement just kept on increasing. 

"Okay, okay Remy! Calm down!" Logan said while giving Remy a couple of slaps on the cheeks. "Calm down now! I need some details on this." 

Eventually Remy calmed down enough to say "No, no. No details. That would ruin most of the sport for me. I'm not into this just for the money, you know. I can only give you one thing now, the rest you get to know when you need it."   
"Alright then. Thank God for small mercies I guess."   
"Your opponent's name. It probably won't mean anything to you though, but take it from me. He's good!"   
"Yeah, you've said that already! Who is he?" 

"He goes by the name of Creed." 

TBC 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers in part 1.

Thanks to Autumn for previewing it for me, this chapter as well as the last one. I just somehow forgot to add it to the credits before posting chapter 1. If any mistakes remain, no fault can be laid at her doorstep.

Chapter 2

The days went by and Logan was a bit on the edge as he always was when he had let himself be talked into something by Remy LeBaue. Small wonder since something always seemed to happen around him and on several occasions Logan had been too close of not walking away from it. He still was very curious though and really wanted to know if there's something to everything LeBaue had said. Could it really be as much money in it as he claimed? 

Only one way to find out which was another reason why he was on the edge. Patience had never been a virtue of his and even less so during this. He was practically pacing his small apartment non-stop, desperately wanting to hear anything from LeBaue. The guy could be very mysterious and annoying on occasion. Logan didn't really know anything about the guy, except that he had showed up in this particular part of London about five years ago and had made himself a name since then. Rumour had it that he was running a secret guild of thieves. Well, secret to the police that is. The people of the neighbourhood couldn't think of a worse kept secret though.

Logan hadn't been able to put his finger on what made him trust LeBaue enough to go through with this. Sure, they had been through some really nasty stuff together but more often than not with him taking more of it than the other way around. They were not exactly friends, more like reluctant business partners so where the hell did the trust come from? The closest thing Logan had ever come to explain it to himself was that LeBaue had a way of bringing the best out in people, some way of playing people like the piano if he wanted to.  "Some things you just have to accept at face value", he had often thought to himself when it came to that subject.

One night when he came home from one of his regular pub-evenings he found a piece of paper lying waiting for him on his kitchen table, together with LeBaue's trademark "Jack of hearts" card. No surprise there. Finding the paper was a surprise but not that LeBaue had managed to get into his apartment. He more or less had expected something along those lines, he just hadn't known when to expect it. Logan was fiddling with the card with his right hand while reading the letter:

**_"Hi Logan,_**

****

**_It's almost time for your first fight. I know you don't like to do things halfway so you're going up against Creed the first thing you do! No second-rate fighters for you, homme!_**

****

**_Now, down to business. I don't need to tell you that cage fighting is highly illegal so where we're doing it changes almost every time. Memorize the directions here and be there at 9 Friday night._**

****

**_Remy"_**

Logan stared at the directions. He had thought he was living in shabbier parts of town but it was nothing compared to where he was going. The police didn't go there for crying out loud! The only law down there is: survive!

He shrugged it off and decided to go anyway. If LeBaue could survive there, so could he.

**Friday night**

**The fight club**

The club was smoky and rowdy. Just like most pubs, but this place could in no way be mistaken for just a pub! The cage totally dominated the scene even without the fighters in it. Logan went to check out the premises a bit before trying to find LeBaue – and he quickly found out that LeBaue hadn't been exaggerating. This was a public magnet! The place was filled almost beyond the bursting point, with most people trying their damnest to fight their way up to the cage to get the best possible view of the two men beating the brains out of each other. Something about the crowd didn't seem quite right, as if they were constantly on their guard against something. That they would be on the outlook for cops wouldn't be enough to explain it. People that would go to this kind of place would be very accustomed to the "threat" of police, or they wouldn't even be here in the first place.

No, it had to be something else. He was quite sure he had it pegged down a couple of minutes later. Most people around were mutants! No wonder they were on their guard. It becomes second-hand or you're dead before you're in your twenties. Especially if you have one of the more extreme mutations, like the guy he saw the other day. The guy's skin was green and his eyes were very, very large. He could never be mistaken for a "flatline" as the derogatory term was and if Logan weren't mistaken, the guy wouldn't live for much longer. His eyes were too haunted, with very little hope left in them.

Logan was slowly moving towards the cage to take a closer look. It was in the middle of a match, a particularly bloody one too. Logan's jaw dropped when he saw that both of the contestants were obviously mutants, which when he thought about it made sense. They need something of their own too but their insecurities and fears can't be completely left behind.

The "show" the two guys Logan was watching was quite interesting. They were fighting like madmen, fighting tooth and claw (quite literally). Blood was flowing freely and the guy in blue fur was clearly in the lead. He landed one super punch and the match was over!

As the fight ended, Remy showed up from nowhere end entered the cage, holding the hand of the winner up in the air before proclaiming

 "Winner: The Beast!" At that the Beast bowed to the audience and left the cage.

Remy continued with "And now, for a new treat. We have a new Warrior that is about to take on the one and only Sabertooth! Talk about guts!"

The crowd oohed and looked thunderstruck and got even more insistent than before to claim the prime seats in front of the cage. Remy looked out over the crowd, pointed at a door with his whole arm and said, "Behold the mighty Sabertooth!"

Logan looked that way and saw…a giant of a man striding towards a cage, his head held high. The man looked truly vicious and unbeatable and Logan could only whisper

"Holy shit".

---TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers in chapter 1. 

Dedication: This is dedicated to Autumn. This is for you and I hope that nasty flu stops giving you a hard time soon. Preferably now. 

* * *

The crowd was cheering, and very enthusiastically too. Logan was in a sort of haze though so he was in no position to tell if they cheered for or against Creed. He didn't care either way either. He only cursed his own stupidity in going along with LeBaue. He knew his strengths and weaknesses like the back of his hand but he was not at all sure if he could beat this savage beast. Any normal human, sure no sweat. A mutant like that? Who could? And they had the nerve to call the blue guy a beast! 

Who could indeed? Doesn't matter. It was way too late to withdraw from the competition, and his pride and honor wouldn't let him anyway. He held his head up high and walked straight towards the cage. The doors slammed shut behind the fighters and Logan and Creed occupied a corner of the cage each, with LeBaue in the middle. It was like a big travesty of a boxing match and LeBaue was acting the part of a referee perfectly. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen," 

Logan snarled at that. The people in this unruly crowd were hardly gentlemen, or ladies for that matter. Fight groupies or adrenalin junkies were much more fitting in his mind. 

"We have Creed versus Logan! Or, if you will, David versus Goliath!" 

Ain't that the truth, Logan thought gloomily. The question is, will David prevail this time around? 

"Or Sabertooth versus Wolverine! Let the match begin!" 

Logan didn't have time to think where the "stagename" of Wolverine came from since LeBaue immediately used that staff of his as a leverage and had jumped over the walls of the cage. Creed didn't waste any time at all and jumped towards Logan within a split-second and planted his fist square on Logan's jaw, sending him flying backwards crashing into the cage. 

He felt dizzy but forced himself up onto his feet, retaliating. He took Creed more by surprise than anything else but the beast fell down with a thud that shook the cage. The audience gasped and LeBaue could be heard yelling "This is unheard of!" before Creed was up and about again. Logan didn't like the look Creed got in his eyes, it reminded him too much of the look cats get in their eyes when they see a mouse they want to play with. Creed roared before saying "You're mine, runt! Run back to your mommy while you can!". Logan wasn't a quitter, and never had been, though so he didn't even consider it. 

He had no clue to how he managed to stay alive in this, the most brutal of fights, but he did. It was like every cut and bruise he got healed almost instantly, which didn't make sense at all and made him more than a little confused. His opponent got more and more frustrated as the fight dragged on, as if he thought "How dare this insignificant dwarf of a man hold his own against me! The cage is mine!". His temper got the better of him and soon he used his claws more viciously than ever before, tearing large holes in Logan's throat. 

An ordinary man would have died of injuries like that but to his astonishment, Logan found out that the only thing it did for him was to rise the level of adrenaline in his body. The holes themselves disappeared without a trace.. The only other thing he noticed was that his body was on overdrive and that a strange feeling could be sensed around his knuckles. 

The fight went on for a couple of more minutes when, all of a sudden, claws burst out of Logan's arms. Three large boneclaws on each. Logan himself was taken by surprise but Creed even more so, which gave Logan the advantage he needed. The adrenaline and the claws that extended his reach like you wouldn't believe made it possible for him to take Creed down, permanently this time. 

LeBaue was beside himself and kept on shouting "We've got a new 'King of the cage'" on and on and on. Logan noticed something hanging around Creed's neck and he used a claw to take it off. It was a pair of army dogtags bearing the inscription of "Rogue". 

Who the hell was Rogue? 

* * * * * * * * 

The chaos subsided eventually and Logan got his money from LeBaue, more money than he had seen in a very long time. He stuck it inside his backpocket, lit a cigar and hung the dogtags around his neck before walking of with a "Later, LeBaue". 

"Logan! Wait!"   
"Why?"   
"I saw that you took the dogtags from Creed. Just a warning, he'll come after you! He's gonna want those back, homme!"   
"So? His loss, his problem."   
"NO! They mark an ownership. Whoever owns the tag owns the person whose name's on it. It's kinda like a receipt. He may not care for the tag itself but he wants to keep Rogue, you can bet your life on that!" 

Logan felt disgusted. He had heard rumours whispered of the modern slavery but never come across it before. The world really could be a shithole when stuff like that could happen. 

"Where is she?"   
"How do you?" LeBaue started before Logan cut him off.   
"Know it's a she? If that monster owns someone, it's not for cleaning his dishes. Where is she LeBaue? I know you know so spill it!"   
"You got it" and he gave Logan the address. "Look Logan, I know you're a noble man. If you want to save her, get her out of the country! Far away! Creed's not gonna give up on her easily, you know that don't you? He'll hound you day and night if that's what it takes." 

"We'll see about that" Logan said and left, in pursuit of the captive Rogue. 

When he arrived at what he assumed was Creed's flat he could hear muffled cries from inside. Wasting no time, he used one of the claws to get the door open with as little noise as possible. He felt he could get himself away easily if he drew attention to himself but that would leave the poor girl no better off. He had no intention of leaving her hanging out to dry with all kinds of lowlife and scum around. He remembered only too well what had happened the last time he had only thought of number one, a memory he would do anything to get rid of so the guilt wouldn't devour him completely. 

In one corner of the room, a room that looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the 100-years war, a girl of no more than 16 was sitting. She was practically naked, wearing only panties. Her entire body was bruised and she sported quite a lot of nasty cut and scars to boot as well. She was chained to the wall, her hands tied behind her back and she had a dirty rag stuffed in her mouth. Logan's blood was almost literally starting to boil and he swore to himself that if he ever came across the pervert called Creed he would make him suffer! No one deserves to be treated like that! As a toy. 

The girl recoiled when he entered the room, apparently thinking she would either be beaten or raped again. He approached her very slowly to make her less afraid of him. He removed the gag and hugged her, against better knowledge since it could startle her but he couldn't help himself, saying "Ssh. It's okay now. You're safe." He had no real reason to think it would work so he was delightfully surprised to see her looking up at him with trust in her eyes and she asked very timidly 

"You promise?"   
"Yeah, I promise". 


End file.
